Serving dishes exhibit a mixture of aesthetic and functional attributes to most beneficially support and present food items before and during the meal experience. Such dishes can come in a variety of different configurations geometrically with adjustments based on size to accommodate larger or smaller servings and adjustments in shape, such as with a flatter plate-like form or a more curved bowl-like form, both for aesthetics and to accommodate containment of liquids or solids which have a tendency to migrate if not laterally supported.
Typically, such dishes only vary in appearance, shape and material to optimize food containment attributes and to optimize visual aesthetics. In some instances, it is known to adjust a temperature of a serving dish to enhance the performance of the dish. For instance, it is known in some instances to keep dishes in a freezer and then serve food items on a cold dish. For instance, serving salad on a cold dish can keep the lettuce crisp more effectively than serving the salad on a hot dish. It is also known to use a cold glass to serve beer (or root beer) to provide a “frosty mug” presentation.
Furthermore, it is known to form dishes of different materials which will have a different thermal performance relative to the food. For instance, a ceramic dish might be utilized for serving hot foods so that the person enjoying the food item on the dish is less susceptible to being burned if incidentally touching the dish. Because ceramic materials have a relatively lower than average thermal conductivity, even if the dish is touched, rates of heat transfer into the person touching the dish are sufficiently low that a burn is avoided.
When food items are served which benefit from being kept cold after initial serving, the utilization of dishes that have been kept in a freezer has only limited effectiveness in keeping the food items served thereon cold or frozen. In particular, dishes typically have a single walled form with a limited mass between opposite surfaces thereof. Even with dishes formed of a material having a higher than average heat capacity, only a limited amount of heat transfer is facilitated from the food items served on the dish to an interior of the material forming the dish, to keep the food items served on the dish hot or cold. Heat transfer from surrounding air into the food item is typically at a higher rate than heat transfer from the food item into the dish, so that the food item will melt or become warm and transition to a temperature above freezing rather rapidly. Furthermore, the total heat capacity of the dish is limited so that, once exceeded, rapid warming of the food item served on the dish will occur.
One attempt at a hot or cold serving dish that is known in the prior art is the “Hot or Cold Stainless Thermal Serving Tray” provided by Oggi Corporation of Anaheim, Calif., and which was available for sale at www.kitchenkapers.com on Oct. 30, 2009. The product is formed of stainless steel and is described as having a “gel core.” This tray is designed for food distribution, rather than as a dish for holding foods while eating, having a platter form rather than a bowl form. Also, while this device has a potential cooling effect, it is not described as capable of performing at below freezing temperatures, such as to keep ice cream frozen.
When serving ice cream, it is often desirable to maintain the ice cream below freezing for as long as possible. The person enjoying the ice cream can then enjoy the experience of having the ice cream melt in one's mouth, rather than already being melted upon the serving dish. Prior art serving dishes have been ineffective in keeping ice cream frozen for a long enough period to allow the user of the dish to enjoy the entire serving of ice cream with the ice cream remaining frozen through at least a majority of the time that the ice cream is being served. Accordingly, a need exists for a serving dish which can effectively support and serve ice cream or other food items, while keeping the ice cream frozen, even with addition of a hot topping, for a longer period of time than has been possible with prior art serving dishes.